Last young members weekend

This weekend was my last young members weekend, as old age comes ever closer.

It was as always a brilliant weekend, and with record numbers of young members in attendance. One of the brilliant things about the Young Members Weekend is that the delegates range from the experienced old timers like myself to young members for whom the weekend has been their first activity within UNISON.

I helped to organise a fringe with the Cuba Solidarity Campaign were we showed the film which was made about our trip to Cuba last year.

For the first time this year we had a speaker from the Government, with Hazel Blears popping across from Salford. Government speakers at UNISON events are always controversial, and with all that's gone on Hazel was no exception. But she did really well, and it was really interesting to hear about what had brought her into the trade unions (NALGO at the time) and what had got her involved in politics.

A key part of the weekend is for regional groups to come up with action plans we're going to deliver back in our regions. This year these plans were presented back as 'Young Members Got Talent', with the best (though not the winner) was the West Mids with our song about our planned Hope not Hate activity.

As part of the close of the weekend I was asked to say a few words. I was surprised how emotional I got, particularly as I thanked those who have supported me to get more involved with Young Members and helped me get to where I am today. I particularly thanked Fiona Smith (Chair of the National Young Members Forum when I started on it and now NEC member for Scotland), Anne True (the NYMF Chair when I was Vice Chair and going on to be Asst. Regional Convener and then UNISON staff), and Angela Bowen (a fellow NYMF member when I started and now NEC member for the North West) and used them as an example of how getting involved with Young Members can then lead on to getting involved in the mainstream union.

I talked about three important elections and what we needed to do. The first being the NEC elections which close on Friday, emphasising how important participation in our elections are, making sure everyone returns their ballot. Secondly the European and local elections on June the 4th and the importance of voting against the BNP and helping to mobilise the anti-fascist vote. Thirdly, and most importantly, the General Election which is ahead in the next year. I emphasised the danger that the conservatives pose to our members and our services and the need to do whatever we can to keep them out of power; ultimately that means making sure we return the Labour Party to Government.